First Few Photos C&C Please

[Derek Zoolander]

Hi Everyone,

I just came across this site looking for pointers and tips. I just got my Canon Rebel XS about a week ago and I've been taking pictures like crazy. My motivation for buying the camera was that a family friend took photos at my brother's wedding and his turned out much nicer than even the hired photographer. Then I thought it'd be great to capture my nephew growing up. Here are a few that I picked from the bunch. Any pointers would be great. I'm trying really hard to take photos that look better and different/unique than photos taken with a point and shoot. I'm having a hard time with it, and when I think I have a good pictures, I think I'm just being biased. SO, with that long story, please give me anything you've got. I'm stuck on the whole aperture/shallow depth of field thing, but I figure i'd start off trying to perfect the one thing I liked most about my friend's wedding pictures.

None of these have been touched up yet.

Here goes:

1. I changed the White balance in Lightroom for this one and ended up liking the original one better (this yellowish picture below).

2.

3. This one is too yellow, and it looks better when I change the white balance to auto in Lightroom, but I don't know how to save it once I've changed it. Help there would be great! Also, I don't know why I like this picture and I haven't been able to replicate the effect (whatever effect it is, if you guys can figure it out, that'd be great).

 

[jwsciontc]

the last one would be better like you said with WB and color modifications, and if the man on the right's head was all the way in the picture. the people in the 1st 2 seem yellowish tinted and a little overexposed to me

 

[TStorm]

The second is the only one that looks thought out, the other two seem like anyone's candid family photos. That said, I like the second one though - I like the positioning of the subject and the shallow depth of field. Color is a bit yellow though, I'd recommend adjusting the white balance for incandescent lighting.
Just my two cents.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Thanks everyone. I am trying to figure out the white balance and I think I'm getting there. I'll post some when I get one I like.

Anyone know how to save the photo in Lightroom after you've changed the White Balance to auto?

Also, Do you guys fiddle with metering at all? I'm still trying to figure out if it's something I should even be messing with.

 

[jong]

i suggest read "understanding exposure" by bryan peterson. to understand the basics of photography and go from there.

 

[gob144]

1 and 3 are just snap shots in my eyes.

 

[Derek Zoolander]

Since the general consensus is that 1 and 3 are just snap shot looking photos, what would you guys have done to make it more unique/look better? thanks for the feedback!

 

[Derek Zoolander]

bump

 

[jasonkt]

Experiment with cropping, take lots of pics of the same shot so that you have some to choose from. Think about your point of focus while shooting and framing your subject. Try to eliminate distracting noise from the background too. A little PP goes a long way, I just played with this pic for 5 minutes. I gave it a tighter crop, tried to recover some of the overexposure, desaturated the skin just a bit, bumped up the contrast in the eyes and that's about it. As for what you can do before taking the image, definitely get to know your metering and start learning all you can about lighting. I don't think you can ever stop learning about lighting.

all just tips from a seasoned beginner...